1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a billing system. In particular, this invention relates to a billing system for billing customers to a telecommunications network.
2. Description of Related Art
A known telecommunications network is shown in FIG. 1. This includes a plurality of telephones (7), each of which is connected to one of a plurality of local exchanges (9). Connected to the local exchanges (9) are transit exchanges (11) that are provided for routing calls between the local exchanges (9).
On lifting a handset of one of the telephones (7) the user hears a dialling tone and dials the number of the person to be contacted. The dialled codes are decoded at the local exchange (9) and the call is routed to the appropriate destination. Any services such as call diversion, alarm-call, call waiting, etc are controlled by software that resides on the local exchanges (9). This means that the modification of these services and the introduction of new services are time-consuming.
FIG. 2 shows another telecommunications network (13) of the type that has become known as an Intelligent Network (IN). This is similar to that shown in FIG. 1, except that in this case each local exchange (9) is additionally connected to a Service Control Point (SCP) (15) and an Intelligent Peripheral (IP) (17). Alternatively, the IP may be located within the local exchange (9).
Contained in the SCP (15) are Service Logic Programs (SLPs) that control advanced network services while the Intelligent Peripheral is used to play recorded announcements to callers and collect information from them during the operation of the services. Having the software that controls operation of services located in the SCP (15) and not the customers"" local exchange (9) means that new services can be introduced and modified across the entire network in relatively short periods of time.
Typically, the local exchanges (9), and possibly the transit exchanges (11), are enhanced so that they have the capability to detect the occurrence of certain events over the whole duration of the call, i.e. from call set up to the call being terminated. The local exchanges (9) report these to the SCP (15). Exchanges (9) with such a reporting capability are known as Service Switching Points (SSP).
When a call is made on the network and the SSP (9) recognises that the call requires an Intelligent Network service, it opens a dialog with the SCP (15). Information is then sent to the SCP (15) and subsequent instructions are sent from the SCP (15) in order to connect the call. The process of the SSP (9) recognising that the call requires an intelligent network service and initiating a dialog with the SCP (15) is known as xe2x80x9ctriggeringxe2x80x9d. A trigger can occur in the SSP (9) at a number of points within a call, for example on detection of the caller going off-hook, detection of certain sequences of dial digits, detection of the called party being busy or not answering or detection of a sequence of digits being dialled whilst the call is in the speech phase. When such a trigger point is reached, the SSP (9) suspends normal call processing and exports a number of parameters (such as service identity, dialled number, calling number, trigger detection point) to the SCP (15) in what is known as Initial Detection Point operation (IDP).
On receipt of an IDP the SCP (15) invokes the identified service logic programme and sends any necessary instructions to the SSP (9). The SSP (9) carries out these instructions which can range from monitoring the network for occurrence of call events to connecting the caller to the IP (17) and then to the destination telephone (7). When the dialog between the SSP (9) and the SCP (15) is complete, normal processing of the call resumes.
It is also possible for the SCP (15) to initiate calls by sending a message to the SSP (9) instructing it to call a telephone (7). When this telephone (7) is answered the event can be reported to the SCP (15) which can then instruct the SSP (9) to connect the called person to an announcement or another telephone.
In order to calculate bills for customers using the intelligent network of FIG. 2, information is sent to the SSPs (9) from the SCP (15) to populate call information records in the SSPs (9). Connected to each SSP is a Network Mediation Processor (NMP) (17) as is shown in FIG. 3. Each NMP (17) polls the switch at designated times for the call information records, usually around midnight when communication traffic on the switch is at a minimum. This minimises disruption on the network. The information obtained by the NMPs (17) is stored in platform independent usage records (PIURS) which are then passed onto a Service Domain Processor (SDP) (19), which acts effectively as a pricing engine. The SDP (19) contains information on the pricing structure for calls and calculates the price of each of the calls in the PIURS passed onto it. The priced PIURS are then passed onto a computer support system (CSS) (21) that normalises the PIURS into a form that is IBM compatible, works out which account each call belongs to, and calculates the final bill. This final calculation takes into account any discounts that the customer is entitled to, for example, the BT friends and family discount. The final bill image is then stored in a central billing database (23) ready for distribution to the customer.
Whilst this known billing system is reliable and accurate, information is only collected once per day. Increasingly, there is a need for a system with real-time billing capability.
According to first output of the invention there is provided a billing system for a telecommunications network, the network comprising a plurality of service switching points in communication with a service control point arranged to control network services, and a call monitor arranged to monitor messages indicative of individual calls on the network, passing between the service control point and one of the service switching points, and to place information indicative of the monitored messages into a call record database.
According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a billing system for a telecommunications network, the telecommunications network comprising a plurality of local exchanges for providing services to users of the network, the local exchanges each being connected to service control means that contains programs for controlling network services, wherein the billing system comprises monitoring means for monitoring the network, the monitoring means being connected between the local exchanges and the service control means and a central processor connected to the monitoring means, wherein the monitoring means monitors the network using a monitoring agent that gathers information relating to calls made on the network as those calls are made and an updating agent is provided to place the information found by the monitoring agent in a central database in the central processor.
An advantage of the billing system in which the present invention is embodied is that real time billing information can be obtained.
Preferably, there is a plurality of monitoring means, each of which is associated with one local exchange. Preferably, the monitoring means includes a local call record database, wherein the monitoring agent places call record information in the call record base and the updating agent reads information from the local call record database and transfers that information to the central database in the central processor.
Preferably, each of the monitoring and the updating agents is mobile.
Typically, an operator interface is provided to enable access to information in the said central database, the operator interface being connected to the central processor. Preferably, the operator interface includes an interface agent for interpreting instructions from an operator and accordingly constructing a query for the central database. Typically, a searching agent is provided for searching for customer billing information in response to a query from an operator. Preferably the searching agent is mobile and can move between the operator interface and the central processor.
Preferably, a report-building agent is provided for building reports of the findings of the searching agent, and calculating the customer""s bill from the results of the operator query. Preferably, the report building agent presents the results of the query to the operator.
Typically, fraud detection means are provided for detecting fraudulent calls on the network. Preferably, the fraud detection means is operable to send instructions to the exchanges to block numbers to which fraudulent calls are being made.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of providing real-time billing information in a telecommunications network, the network comprising a plurality of service switching points in communication with a service control point arranged to control network services, the method comprising:
(a) monitoring messages indicative of individual calls on the network, passing between the service control point and one of the service switching points, and
(b) updating a call records database with information indicative of the monitored messages.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing real time billing information in a telecommunications network, the network comprising a plurality of local telephone exchanges for providing services to users of the network, the local telephone exchanges being connected to service control means that contain programmes that control network services, wherein the method comprises the steps of:
monitoring the network between the local telephone exchanges and the service control means for new call records using a monitoring agent that gathers information relating to calls made on the network as those calls are made and
updating a central database with information relating to any new calls when they are detected by the monitoring agent using an updating mobile agent.
Preferably the method includes the further step of accessing the said database from an operator interface, which is connected to the central database server. Preferably, the method further involves interpreting instructions from the operator using an interface agent, and accordingly constructing a query for the database.
Preferably, the method further involves searching for customer billing information using a searching agent in response to a query from an operator. Preferably, the searching agent is mobile and can move between the operator interface and the central database server. Preferably, the method includes the step of building reports of the findings of the searching agent using a building agent and calculating the customer""s bill from the results of the operator query. Preferably, the report building agent presents the results of the query to the operator.